The present invention relates in general to smart components in substrate processing systems and the use of smart components and smart component-based management techniques for improving the installation, operation, and maintenance of substrate processing systems.
Substrate processing systems, such as plasma processing systems, wet chemical processing systems, chemical-mechanical polish (CMP) systems, and the like, have long been employed in the processing of substrates (e.g., semiconductor wafers, flat display panels, optics substrates, nano-machine substrates, and the like). As technology progresses, substrate processing systems (such as plasma processing systems) have become more costly to acquire and maintain. Part of the cost increase can be attributed to the increased complexity of the substrate processing systems themselves. This is because as devices shrink and production pressure increases in an attempt to keep up with the ever-increasing consumer demand for constantly improving electronic products, customers expect that the substrate processing systems be capable of carrying out highly demanding etch and deposition processes, as well as be capable of high throughput rates. As a result, modern substrate processing systems are increasingly characterized by highly sophisticated designs, exotic materials, and precisely tooled parts.
When a part needs to be installed, as a replacement part in accordance with a predefined maintenance schedule, for example, manufacturers of substrate processing systems often insist that the replacement part be certified. The certification process insures that the part meets stringent engineering specifications, for example with respect to the composition of the part material and the dimensions of the part.
When a certified part is employed, the manufacturer of the substrate processing system can be reasonably certain that the substrate processing system has the intended configuration and conforms with expected system specifications to run the required application (e.g., the etch or deposition process). The use of certified parts benefits both the owner of the substrate processing systems, who enjoys a reliable system that yields expected process results, and the manufacturer, who enjoys not having to repair substrate processing systems that are broken due to inferior parts.
As in the case with most quality products, the certified parts tend to cost more than their inferior copies. For unscrupulous grey-market operators, the temptation to produce inferior copies of substrate processing system parts and to pass them off as “acceptable substitutes” is high since a substantial profit can be gained by making parts cheaply and selling them into a high-dollar parts market. For owners of the substrate processing systems, the temptation to purchase and use non-certified parts is high, since certified parts, being manufactured with great precision, tend to cost more in the short term. In these cases, both the owners and the manufacturers suffer.
The owner, despite saving some money in the short term, invariably suffers from unreliable system performance and a frequently interrupted production schedule due to equipment failures. The manufacturer suffers from having to support and repair a greater number of broken systems, and possibly from being unjustly branded as a producer of unreliable substrate processing equipment.
There are other issues with respect to the installation, operation and maintenance of parts. In today's substrate processing systems, it is all too easy to incorrectly install a part, to install the wrong part for a given system and/or application, and/or to miss a required maintenance task on a part. As substrate processing systems become more complex, the problems are exacerbated.
In view of the foregoing, a different approach to managing substrate processing system components is required.